“The vaccine is not new, and it is part of the childhood vaccination programme“
Qatar’s annual Tdap vaccination campaign will begin at all schools across the nation by the middle of February, health authorities have announced.
The Tdap vaccine can help prevent tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis. Pertussis and diphtheria are contagious diseases, while tetanus can enter the body through cuts or other wounds, leading to painful stiffening of the muscles.
The Tdap vaccine should be administered to all adults who did not receive it as a child. A Td or Tdap booster shot should be administered every ten years after they have received the dose.
The campaign will take place in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, the Primary Health Care Corporation, and the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) to ensure students’ safety across all schools.
The objective for this year’s round is to immunise high school students in Qatar’s independent, private, and public institutions.
“The vaccine is not new, and it is part of the childhood vaccination programme, part of adolescent routine vaccination and it is a pre-entry requirement for most colleges both locally and internationally,” said Dr. Soha Albayat, head of Vaccination at MoPH.
Such efforts support the Qatar National Vision 2030 to improve population health, as well as the ministry’s efforts to improve the immunity of male and female students at this age and in compliance with the World Health Organization’s recommendations to receive a booster dose of tetanus, diphtheria, as well as whooping cough vaccine every ten years.
“The implementation of the vaccination campaign against Tdap annually aims to enhance the immunity of male and female students, against these three diseases,” said Dr. Hamad Eid al-Rumaihi, manager of, the Health Protection and Communicable Diseases Control Department MoPH.
“The World Health Organization recommends that the vaccination against the three diseases should be taken every 10 years as a booster dose.”
The official clarified that this is part of Qatar’s national immunisation schedule and falls under the guidelines for adolescents’ periodic vaccination.
The high vaccination rate in Qatar prevents the spread of tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough, according to Dr. al-Rumaihi. However, he highlighted that focus should be placed on the seriousness of the three diseases, which may result in serious complications such as death or total disability.
Tdap is frequently advised by the CDC as a single dose for teens aged 11 to 18 years old, with 11 to 12 years old being the preferred age for administration.
